men by n. moth. lie cn.n Bmite e. ne.tion by e. gust of wind. He can perform hi11 purpoHcs by e.n e.rmy of locusts e.s ee.sily e.s by e. hierarchy of angels.-D. T. Vor. 6.-A call to drunkards. "Awake, ye drunke.rds, and weep! and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, bece.uee of the new wine I for it is cut off from your mouth." The words imply tha.t the wine used in Jude.h was of e.n iatoxice.ting che.racter, that men in that country used lt to e.n inebriating extent, and that such men should humble themRelves in deep penitence on e.ecount of the great ce.le.mity that was coming upon the land. A more contemptible character, a more injurious member of the human family, exists not upon earth than a. drunkard. Drunkenness is the chief curse of England to-day. Despite the earnest and praiseworthy efforts of temperance reformers, establishments for creating and supplying the intoxicating beverage are increasing in size a.nd multiplying in number on all hands. The beer-house has become one of the most influential estates of the realm. A few yea.rs ago there were only three estates- the throne, Parliament, and the Church. Not long since journalism was added to the number, and now we must add the beer-house. This beer-house bids fair to control the House of Commons, sport with Cabinets, and even to govern the nation. The prophet here thunders in the ears of the drunkards of his country. Why should these drunkards now weep? I. BBOAUBE THEY WERE TO BE DEPRIVED OJ' THE BLEBBING THEY PRIZED THE MOST, What does the drunkard value most? The intoxicating cup. For this he will sell his country, his self-respect, his health, his wife, hie children, his all By the intoxicating cup you can buy him over to any cause. But these drunkards in Judah were to lose that. Joel says," For it is cut off from your mouth." The locusts were to destroy the vine, and there would be no grapes, and therefore no wine. God will sooner or later take from every sinner that which he values most, that which he esteems his greatest pleasure or enjoyment. He will take power from the ambitious, wealth from the miser, pleasure from the voluptuary, the intoxicating cup from the drnnkard. II. BECAUSE TREY WERE TO LOBE THE BLESSING THEY HAD ABUSED. God will not have his gifts abused. He who abuses his blessings shall inevitably lose them. He dried up the vine now in Judah because men had abused it. And I am disposed to think it would be a blessed thing for England, ay, and a blessed thing for drunkards, .were all the spirit-distilleries, all the breweries, all the beer-houses, dried up as this vine now was. I scarcely know which is the worse, the drunkard or the drunkard- makers. CoNOLUBION. "Awake, ye drunkards I" Awake from your sottish stupidity I Reflect upon what you are, and what a self-ruinous course you are pursuing. Awake I You are sleeping on the bosom of a volce.nic hill about to burst and engulf you. " And weep." Because of the blessings you have abused, because of the injuries you have inflicted upon your own natures as well as others; weep because of the sins you have committed against yourself, society, and God. "Howl, all ye drinkers of wine!" Ah! if you were aware of your true situation, you would howl indeed-howl out your soul in confession and prayer. " 0 thou invisible spirit of wine, If thou he.st no n11,II1e to be known by, let Us ce.11 thee devil" (Shakespeare.) D.T. Vera. 19, 20.-The influence of national calamities on the minds of the good. "0 Lord, to thee will I cry," etc. In the verses extending from the sixth to the eighteenth, the prophet described with great vividness and force the attributes of these " locusts" and the terrible devastations they would effect, and he called upon various members of the community to attend to the calamity. The old men and the young people, the drunkards e.nd the farmers, the priests and the laity, all are summoned to reflection, penitence, and reform. Here he cries out to the Lord himself on account of the calamity, which he describes with remarkable force. "'!'he fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field." It is a question whether the fire and flame are to be tu.ken literally as burning the grass, which ofteq JOEL, 0 '!'HE DOOK OF JOEI-. [ Olt, JI, 1-82,
happens in extreme heat., or whether they are u~d figumtlvcly. The rereronce, I think,' i~ to the burning heat tn drought whioh conaumea the meadows, 10orchcs the trees, and ,fries up the w&ter-brooks. Our subject is tbo influence of national ca.lamieies on the minds of the good. The effect on Joel was t,o excite him to pra,er~ to compel him to lay the oase before the Lord. Having called the attention o all olaeses of the community to the terrible judgments, he turns hi ■ soul in a devout ■upplloation to .AJmighty Goi. I. THre WAR BtGBT. "In everything by prayer and supplication we should make known our wants t.o God." Prayer is right: 1. God require, it. "~'or all t.hoee things will I be inquired of; " " Ask, &nd ye shall receive," etc. 2. Ohrist engaged in it. He prayed, pre.~ often, prayed earnestly, prayed "without ceasing." Ho is our Example•. 11. THre WAB WIIIB. Who elee could remove the calitmity and restore· the ruin? None. All men were utt,erly helpless. When all earthly resources fail, where else can we go but t.o him who origin&tie8 all that is good, and controls all that is evil? True prayer is always wise, because (1) it eeeks the highest good; (2) by the best means. HJ. Tms WAS NATURAL. "The beast.a of the field cry also unto thee." • "The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God." "What better," says an old author, "a.re they than beasts, who never cry to God but for corn and wine, and complain of nothing but the wants of sense ? " CoNOLUBION. It is well when our trials load us in prayer to God. The greatest c&lamities are termed the greatest blessings when they act thus. Hail the tempests,: if they drive our bark into the quiet haven of prayer. " There's a. power which man can wield, When mortal &id is vain. That eye, that arm, that love, t.o ,re11ch, That listening ear to gaiD : • ' That pow!lf is prayer, which soars on high, And feeds on bliss beyond the sky." D.T.